Georgia’s Acting Finance Minister and PM candidate Mamuka Bakhtadze has said he intends to reduce the number of 14 ministries to 11, however, he did not specify which ministries will be reduced and which not.

According to Georgian media, however, the Ministry of Corrections will join the Ministry of Justice in the form of a Department. It is not yet known who will head the united ministries.

It is predicted that the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons will be divided into two parts- one part to join the Ministry of Health, the other to be added to the Ministry of Infrastructure.

In addition, according to the media, the Ministry of Infrastructure will also deal with issues related to energy.

It is alleged that the Ministry of Culture and Sport, which was unified during the previous governmental changes, will join the Ministry of Education.

Mamuka Bakhtadze was selected as the PM candidate by the GD party last Thursday evening, a day after the former PM, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, resigned. He will be the fourth PM since GD came into power in 2012.

Bakhtadze stated two days ago that he will present to the Parliament a cabinet of 14 ministers, because there is no time left to implementing any changes. After 2-3 weeks, however, Bakhtadze plans to launch a governmental reshuffle, which implies reduction of the number of ministries and the bringing of new faces to the cabinet.

By Thea Morrison

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